Linotype-mold.



Patented lan. I, |90I.

(Na'ModeL) THE NOR l! ERS CO PHOT ITHO WASHINGYCN D C UNITED STATESYATENT OFFICE.

ISAIAH HALL, F BERLIN, GERMANY, A S-SIGNOR TO THE MERGENTHALER LINOTYPECOMPANY, OF NEW YORK.

LlNoTv-PE-ivIoL-D.

SPEGIFICATION'fOrming part f Letters Patent N0. 665,212, dated January1,1901. Original application filed July 1'7! 1.900, Serial No. 23,899,Divided and this application filed October 16j 1900. Serial No.

(No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISAIAH HALL, ot Berlin, Germany, have invented a newand useful Improvement in Linotype-Molds, of which 5 the following is aspeciiication.

The present invention relates to improvements in molds for casting mylinotypes, which term is used herein as including printing-barsforborders and the like.

Io The objects of the invention are to produce linotypes which arelighter in proportion to the size of the type-face carried by them thanthose heretofore in use, to avoid the necessity of changing the mold foreach change in the font or size of type-face, and to avoid the necessityof changing the ej enter-blades when the size of the type-face ischanged.

Heretofore linotypes have been cast in the form of solid slugs, thethickness of the body zo being equal to or in excess of the width of theface on which the type characters appeared.

My invention contemplates a reduction in the thickness of the body ofthe slug, the z5 printing-face being made of suitable width to carry thecharacters and the body portion of a thickness less than such width, theupper face, which overhangs the side of the body, being supported by aseries of ribs 3o formed on the body and cast or trimmed parallel withthe opposite face of the body, so that when a series of slugs areassembled side by side the ribs will 'hold them in exact parallelism andalso support the overhanging portion of the printing edge or surface.

The mold constituting the subject of the present invention is adapted toform slugsin this manner. The mold is commonly made of such size as tocast slugs adapted to re- 4o ceive the largest faces required inpractice. If a small face of type is to be produced, suitable matricesare employed to produce the characters on the edge of the slug over thebody portion. As the slug will be thicker than is necessary andappropriate for the small faces, it may be'trimmed down by the usualtrimming-knives, which willcut away the ribs and a portion of the thinupper edge, so that the total thickness of the slug will be reduced toan extent appropriate to the face 5o carried thereby. v

In the drawingsI have shown a mold adapt'- ed for use iu theMergenthaler linotypes, such as are now in general use.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the mold; 55 Fig. 2, a face View of theunder side of the mold-cap; Fig. 3, a'vertical cross-section on the line3 3 of the preceding figure; Fig. 4, a vertical cross-section on theline 4 4 of the preceding iigures, and Fig. 5 a perspective 6o View ofthe improved li notype prod uced in my mold. i The mold is made, asusual, in the form of a solid metal body having a slot or cavity thereinof the exact form of the required linotype, the slot being open at thefront, so that a composed line of matrices may be, assembled against itto produce the type characters on the slug formed therein, and also openat the rear in order to receive molten metal 7o from the melting-pot, asin the ordinary Mergen thaler inachine-such,for exam ple,as thatrepresented in Letters Patent of the United States No. 436,532 and No.557,000.

The mold may beconstructed in one piece or built up in any suitablenumber of pieces, as found most convenient, provided only they areproperly assembled and sec'ured together so as to leave. in the interiora cavity having the characteristics hereinafter named. 8o

As shown in the drawings, 17 is the cap- Y plate or top of the mold; 1S,the bottom plate; 13 and 14, respectively, liners or v spacingv piecesinserted between the cap and body to hold them at the proper distanceapart and to determine the length of the intervening slot or mold-cavityo, in which the linotype is cast.

According to the present invention the distance between the cap-plateand bottom plate 9o corresponds with the thickness ofthe body of thelinotype or, in other words, the .thickness of a linotype-body properfor the smallest font or face of type to be produced. 3 is a shallowgroove in the face of the cap-plate 17 of a length equal to that of themold-cavity and opening into the latter, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. Thejoint width of the groove 3 and the mold-cavity o, measured in thedirection of the line 3 3, is preferably equal to the thickness of thelinotype-body, suitable for the largest font or face of type to beproduced.

6 6 are a series of grooves in the lower or casting face of thecap-plate, extending from front to rear and having, preferably, a depthequal to that of the groove 3, with which they communicate at the front.

lVhen a linotype is cast in the mold containing grooves 3 and 6, it willpresent the appearance shown in Fig. 5, having a relatively thin bodyportion 2, a series of vertical ribs 7 on the side of the body, andaWide upper face carrying the type characters, this upper faceoverhanging one side of the body in the form of a lip, ledge, or shelf5, which receives support from the ribs 7. The ridge 7 and the edge ofthe shelf 5 are castor shaved to a common level, their surfaces beingpara-llel with the opposite side of the body 2, so that when thelinotypes are assembled in the form the ribs '7 and the edge of theshelf 5 on each linotype will rest against the dat unbroken surface ofthe adjacent linotype.

The essence of the invention lies in the mold having the cavity adaptedto form on the relatively thin body a Wider overhanging upper edge tocarry the type-faces and ribs or portions on the body under this shelfto give it support and to maintain the proper parallelism ofthe slugs orlinotypes when they are locked together for use.'

It is manifest that the precise form of the grooves 3 and 6, the numberof the latter, and the relative proportions may be modified provided thecharacteristics named in the preceding paragraph are retained.

Then the mold is used in a Mergenthaler linotype. the type charactersare cast in an inverted position, being alined from the bottom edge ofthe linotype, as shown in Fig. 5, the same-that is to say, aconstantline-being maintained for the alinement of the char acters,whether large or small. If the mold as herein shown is adapted toproduce a linotype with a face Wide enough to receive a type of largesize, the same mold Will also answer for linotypes of all smaller sizes,because owing to the method of alining the inverted letters from thebottom of the slug the matrices for type of the small face will producethem on the lower edge of the slug Wholly or mainly over the bodyportion 2. The slug will have a face Wider than necessary for thesesmall type, but the usual trimming-knives of the machine being properlyadjusted Will serve to shave or cut away the superfluous portions of therib 7 and shelf 5, thus reducing the total thickness of the linotype toan extentappropriate to the particular face which it carries. In otherWords, it is possible by using my mold to cast linotypes of one and thesame size, Whether the type-faces thereon are large or small, theselinotypes being adapted to be trimmed or cut away an d their thicknessreduced more or less according to the size of the type-faces carriedthereon.

v Nhen the machine is provided with my improved mold, it is unnecessaryto substitute one mold for another or to effect any adjust ment of themold When the matrices are changed to effect the change of face. It isalso unnecessary to make any change in the thickness of theejector-blade, as heretofore required when the change of face waseffected, for the reason that all slugs produced in my mold have theirbody portion of equal thickness, so that they may be ejected by one andthe same blade.

What I claim as my invention is l. A linotype-mold having a cavityadapted to produce the body portion 2, an overhanging type-carryingsurface 5, and supportingribs 7.

2. Alinotype-mold,haviugthesloto,groove 3, and groove 6, substantiallyas described and shown.

A liuotype-mold, having a slot or cell adapted to form a body port-ion2, a series of ribs or projections 7 on one side thereof, and an uppertype-carrying surface overlying the body and the ri bs, substantially asdescribed and shown.

In testimony whereof l hereunto set my hand this 24th day of September,1900, in the presence of two attesting Witnesses.

ISAIAH HALL.

Witnesses:

HENRY HASPER, WOLDEMAR HAUPT.

